I want to start a small restaurant in my local neighborhood. Any suggestions on where I should start?

All the answers are good and should be addressed. My two points I would offer are:

1. Try a minimum Viable Product first. Try getting friends or family to come to your house and buy your food. If you can't figure out how to get say 20 people to come to your house and give you 10 or 20 dollars for a meal you will have a hard time building a business.

2. Once you have established that this is a good idea through your research and you have tested a Minimum Viable Product (inviting your friends over). You need to establish Milestones for your business and decide what you will do if you miss a milestone. Decide now when you will quit and how you will exit if this business does not take off the way you hope it will.

The restaurant business is very difficult. You need specific restaurant experience in the founder group. Make sure you have done a lot of homework - make sure you have a unique value proposition for potential customers. Spend a lot of time selecting the location - make sure it will draw customers, there is enough parking outside the restaurant and the building itself can pass the local regulatory standards for a restaurant. Consider if you need to sell alcohol and if yes, research what the regulations are for that. I you start paying rent and work on getting a restaurant up and going an do not have a permit - it will keep you from generating revenue and increase the capital you will have to invest in the startup phase. I have had a lot of experience setting up budgets and forecasts for businesses. Please feel free to set up a call if you would like to discuss.

You might want to try a website called bizbuysell.com and look for a restaurant in your area for sale. You might find one just the right size and the right style and the right price and you can start right away. The owner will usually stay on to train you. Also try bizben.com. If you score with this approach and need help with Due Diligence or negotiations, I can help.

All ideas mentioned are necessary and will easily be covered via a simple business plan. Unless your local neighborhood has (or will have) lots of "foot traffic," to ensure sustainability, factor in location, location, location!